Monroy's Death By Kraken

I'd like to introduce you fine folks to a recent discovery that I made, that of Death By Kraken Ghost Extreme Hot Sauce by Monroy's Original Hot Sauce Company. I see terms like "extreme" and "infernal" in names and descriptions made by the company that makes a particular sauce all the time, so I was hesitant in getting my hopes up regarding the heat of the sauce, but more about that later. First lets review my favorite variables in a sauce.
The color is a nice red though possibly a little paler than I normally prefer. It's still a rich red color that, when put on food, gives a nice presentation. Flecks of black, probably pepper, are noticeable too which, rather than making it look cluttered, adds a nice contrast to the condiment in a world populated by a majority of single-color sauces with little hint of ingredient depth. This leads to the discussion of the consistency.
Death By Kraken is thinner than I expected it to be, discovered when I mistakenly poured too much when initially tasting the sauce. It's not thin like runny Lousiana-style hot sauces, and still pours with depth, but I might enjoy it more if it had more mass. Having said that, it still pours well and richly.
Upon tasting the sauce, one of the first things to jump out at me was a taste of citrus. I definitely noted a feel of oranges or tangerines. Not unpleasantly at all but adding character. I also got a hint of chlorophyll, a feeling of gardens. This was nice and made me yearn for warmer days outside. There are  layers to the flavor which adds a nice complexity to foods like tacos or eggs (my favorite hot sauce vector).
Now we get to the heat and let me say that this sauce is HOT. Easily one of the hottest in my collection. As I mentioned earlier, I expected to be let down by the heat level and my expectations were woefully misplaced. I rarely do this when doing my reviews but I had to fetch a glass of water to chase Death By Kraken. It has a back of the tongue burn while still leaving my lips tingling with fire. The high heat level mixed with the layers of flavors is a great combination!
I picked this up from Heat Hot Sauce Shop for $9.99 and I think that the purchase is well worth it. And don't forget to stop by and shop at Monroy's site! Enjoy my friends!

Firebolt

Today I want to take a look at Firebolt Habanero Sauce by Firebolt Foods. Firebolt Foods is a Louisville, Kentucky hot sauce-centered company newly minted by Jesse See Tai, a local entrepreneur. Always a proponent of local start-ups, I happily agreed to give his maiden product a whirl. Here's what I found:
The first kudos I have to deliver on the sauce is the label. GREAT design, not flashy yet not understated or meek. Simple but efficient, it borders on elegant. When I saw the first picture of the sauce bottles, I was taken aback by the design. Great job Jesse!
Upon getting the sauce and opening it I, as many of you have probably picked up by now that I tend to, examined the color. It's a nice red color, but a bit lighter than I expected, with hints of orange and yellow. While still a red sauce, it's not as deep of a red as I had initially expected. No matter, the color of a sauce has never been a deciding factor and with my repertoire of sauces expanding daily, some of the nicest surprises have come with the most unexpected colors.
The consistency of a sauce is of far more importance to me and this product does not fail to please. It is a considerably thick sauce which I like, as many of you know. It's definitely an unfiltered sauce, not at all like a Louisiana styled variety. It does tend to collect in the spout of the bottle, necessitating in a "clearing of the chamber", if you will, to get flow resuming. This is a small effort considering the rewards.
In the flavor category, this sauce is definitely going down as a favorite in my collection. It has a nice richness to it, but accentuated by notes of freshness of vegetables. It is a layered flavor, that of habanero cut with a mustard tinge, which is quite nice. Slightly more garlic would please me in this condiment, but I'm a garlic fiend, so I say this about pretty much everything.
The heat was a pleasant surprise, especially after I read the list of ingredients, as I expected it to be more focused on flavor that the hot. While not saying anything negative about the flavor, as this is delicious, I was not expecting the bite of spice that hit my tongue upon first taste. It contains a definite front-of-tongue burn at times yet, upon further sampling, I discovered that it sometimes has a creeping heat. The heat is quite intense, the form of which it takes notwithstanding.
In summation, this sauce is a new favorite of mine. While the price may seem steep at $9.00 for a 4 ounce bottle, be assured that this is worth it. The flavor is marvelous, the heat palpable, and the overall composition top notch. I encourage you to order a bottle and enjoy it. I am putting it on tacos tonight, myself. Enjoy!

Week Off

I'm sorry for not posting this week. The Holiday fervor has taken up more time in my life than I had planned for it doing. I'll be back next week for some new recommendations of hot sauce exploration!

Pain is Good Habanero Pepper Sauce

Today I'm going to take a look at (and a taste of) Pain is Good by Original Juan Specialty Foods out of Kansas City, KS. I originally found this sauce as featured on the show Hot Ones (but as a slightly different variation). This company also makes Pain 100% (which shouldn't have surprised me, but somehow did). At any rate, this sauce has a reputation that precedes it and I wanted to see if it lived up, and share some of my discoveries with you.
The consistency is nice and thick, not runny like Tabasco-style sauces. However, it's not so thick as to be a terribly slow pour. I think this is a nice middle ground of viscosity that can match many dishes without altering the textures of them.
 The color is not as red as I would have thought that it might be. Rather, it's almost a dull yellowish orange. To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of this part. I rarely say this, but I think the sauce might have benefited from some tomato sauce in the mix, or even some food coloring to change the hue. Maybe I'm nitpicking here but the color affected my initial reaction to this product.
In the flavor category, the spice is met with some bit of citrus. It has an almost floral feeling on the tongue. There was also a hint of something that I couldn't identify until I looked at the ingredient list: mustard brought out by mustard seeds in the mix.While I don't normally go for this sort of a profile in hot sauce, it is nice considering the heat.
The heat is obviously my end criteria on any sauce. I'll tell you that the name isn't kidding. In my first sample of this sauce, I attempted to taste too much at once and I paid for it. The heat is intense and was focused at the center of the tongue, although the tip of my tongue tingled for a while after my first foray. Another after effect was that my lips hurt and were left slightly numb.
In summation, I like the flavor of the sauce and the intense heat. The color, not so much. But at just shy of $8.00 to order, I'm glad to have it in my collection. In fact, I'm going to put it on the tacos I'm about to cook for dinner.

Ssäm Korean Chili Sauce

Greetings readers! I took a break from the blog for a couple of weeks to deal with some family stuff, what with Thanksgiving occurring, but I've returned to review something very special. I'd like to share a sauce with you from Momofuku Ssäm Bar called Ssäm Sauce. This sauce is a delight. It goes amazingly on scrambled eggs as well as a great addition to tacos/burritos. A little background first:
Not only is David Chang to thank for this deliciousness, but he founded a noodle bar in NYC called Momofuku Noodle Bar that quickly rose to international popularity. He has also opened many other restaurants and hosts a show on Netflix called Ugly Delicious (definitely worth checking out). He's kinda one of the people in the culinary world that I look up to.
As for the sauce, the first thing that I noticed (of course) was the consistency. This is a nice, thick, red sauce. At only just over $7.00 online, this gem is more than affordable considering the value that it confers. So I'm sated on the consistency and color, as I've made it well known that the aforementioned combination is my favorite.
The next part surprised me in the pleasure that it gave: that of the flavor. This sauce is sweet! Almost as if St Louis style barbecue sauce had notes of wine and soy sauce. Now, normally I'm not huge into sweet sauces, but the Ssäm Sauce has somehow melded a flavor profile that I am completely a fan of. I must admit that it has a saltiness that appeals to me.
The heat level is not super high, but if you're expecting barbecue sauce-level mildness, you'll be joltingly surprised upon sampling this sauce. It has a noticeable kick, but it's not off the charts like some of the sauces I've reviewed in the past. Also, with the amount of sauce that I consumed due to its wonderful flavor, it can build on you.
If I can leave a take away, it would be to do yourself a service and order a bottle of this sauce for yourself. I know that it will be a mainstay in my fridge from here on in.

Yellowbird Sauce Habanero Condiment

I discovered a sauce via my internet travels that goes by the name of Habanero Condiment made by Yellow Bird Sauce, a company from Texas, that piqued my interest based on public discussion as well as a reasonable price of purchase. This bottle cost me about $8.00 for 19.6 ounces which, considering price of product per ounce, is quite affordable.
The first thing the caught my attention about the sauce once I got it home was the color. While everyone has seen the yellow and orange hot sauces, it doesn't really fit in with that category of those sauces the way I conceive of them. I imagine orange sauces to be more of a lighter red pepper fruit sauce and yellow sauces to have more of a mustard context. Both in flavor and in consistency, this sauce threw me for a loop, but more on those factors later.
The consistency of this hot sauce was much thinner than I had initially predicted. While thicker than, say, a Louisiana red, it was not as heavy as I thought it would be before I put it on my taco, the initial testing vector. While this was mildly disappointing, it made up for it in the addition in contributed to the flavor profile of the dish.
The flavor of the hot sauce is probably my least favorite part of this offering. It is far more one dimensional than I generally prefer in this type of thing. It definitely tastes of citrus, which is a nice departure from the richer sauces that I generally consume. While starting with this leads to a nice and refreshing tang on the tongue, it doesn't really grow on the palate after that. With that said, a richer dish, like tacos, having complex layera of flavors (if done right) is a perfect landing pad for Habanero Condiment. Other potential good uses would be in stews or on a sandwich (one with vegetables and cheese, preferably).
Of course flavor leads to a discussion of heat. The heat found here shocked me. It is surprisingly and genuinely hot! Not a growing heat, mind you, but a heat that hits you immediately and lingers for a good length of time. This heat hit more towards the middle and sides of my tongue, with no real lip burn, even after repeated sampling. No matter where the heat is located, it is a definite and strong heat without being a seemingly pointless and macho heat.
As a take away, the sauce is fine but I wouldn't give it super high marks. I feel as if it had every opportunity to impress me considering the neat experimentation of color and ingredients. At the end of the day, however, I don't think that I'll be leaning on this one heavily in cooking or dipping usage.

Bufalo Salsa Jalapeno

Hello again, chileheads! This week I'd like to take a look at a sauce called Bufalo Salsa Jalapeno that I stumbled upon in a market in a small town that I visited by the name of Murphy, NC. It cost me VERY little, to the tune of $0.64, if I recall correctly. It was so inexpensive that I bought four bottles, and I'm fairly glad that I made that decision.
Upon initial taste, it has a nice citric acidity, but this might not be conducive to folks with sensitive GI tracts. Luckily I don't have that particular malady. It is quite rich, making it good for things like eggs and mixed with chili or a queso dip. There is also a very slight hint of carrot which, after our last review, may seem to be a trend. Coincidence only, I assure you. The freshness of the vegetable pairs nicely with the otherwise full flavor of the sauce. It is a bit simplistic in flavor, having none of the nice layers of taste found in some of the more premium sauces, but the flavor it does express is pleasing.
The heat of the sauce is actually rather potent. The initial burn isn't overwhelming, but it is present. This one, like our last sauce that we visited, has quite an apparent building burn while tasting it. It hits more towards the tip of the tongue, but doesn't have a prolonged lip burn.
The consistency is quite thick, almost to a fault. It is tricky to coax it out of the lip of the bottle and when it finally reaches pouring state, it tends to erupt, so pour with caution and, if mixing it, pour it into a tertiary container first. With that said, it should be evident by now that I have an appreciation for thick sauces and this one is no exception to that tendency.
For the money, this is one of my favorite hot sauces. It's very satisfying on a lot of levels. It isn't nuanced or subtle, but for ones simpler dishes/creations, this will fit in well.